The Apple and the Core Part Two: Ifalna's Fields
by CykeclopsFF7
Summary: Shin-Ra's attempts at conquests and their evil might have reached new heights. While Ifalna finds trouble in her new hiding place, the new generals of SOLDIER find themselves fighting a different sort of battle. Meanwhile, Yuffie and her father, Godo, are at war within their family as well as on their native soil. (A continuation of The Apple and the Core.)
1. Chapter 1

The Apple and the Core Part 2: Ifalna's Fields

Chapter 1: Dreams of the Past

The rain poured mercilessly down from heavens as Ifalna stumbled over the roots and fallen branches in the deep forest. The tall trees did little to shield her as she continued to trudge on, clearly aware of the sound of menacing dogs barking behind her. She couldn't run, or risk tripping with the bundled baby in her arms, and the dogs seemed like they were getting ever closer. She shuddered as she pulled Aeris closer to her chest. The babe was wrapped in the only covering she had, and even that was pitifully inadequate. Rivers of water ran down her face and mixed with the tears she had burning in her eyes. She hadn't had anything to eat in days, and each step felt like it would be her last. She looked down at her baby. She would continue for her, she reasoned. Aeris was the only reason she would carry on this retched existence of being the last of her kind, losing her lover, being thrown in a lab, and then taunted by a taste of freedom. The wind whipped between the branches, causing her to shudder violently. She had no magic left. She had used it all in her escape. There was nothing left of her. Nothing but a cold, shivering shell.

Her foot suddenly wrenched around a gnarly root, causing her to lose her balance, she fell painfully on her side and had to bite her forearm to keep from crying out. She laid there for several long moments, silently sobbing as thunder echoed overhead. She tried to pull herself up, but found herself unable to put much weight on the foot that she wrenched. She looked up and found an enclave within an old dying tree. She huddled herself within its confines amongst the beetles and the worms, and watched with forlorn eyes as the rain continued to puddle on the forest floor. She rested her head on her knees, effectively shielding Aeris from the rest of the elements, but then felt the heat radiating off her baby's face. Her eyes widened as she peeled back the soaked linens to find Aeris' cheeks flush and feverish. More tears began to form as she realized she couldn't wait. She had to press on.

She grabbed a sturdy stick and balanced her weight upon it, before gathering Aeris once more. Lost and alone, she trudged through the forest, not knowing whether or not she was heading in the right direction. She just knew that she was heading toward Banora, and prayed to the gods above that Genesis' parents would give her respite.

~oOo~

The rain poured ominously outside of the Rhapsodos' mansion, but within, three individuals sat very cozily around a dinette table, drinking tea and eyeing the horrible weather outside the large bay windows.

"The weather is absolutely horrible out there..." Gillian Hewley said as she passed the tea pot to Sandra Rhapsodos.

"Don't let Jacob hear you say that…" Sandra muttered in a cautious tone, but flashed a playful smirk as she took the pot from Gillian. "Jacob's upset that we've missed a week of apple harvesting already this year…" The only response either woman got was a grumble from Jacob Rhapsodos as he stared at the window, willing it to stop raining with his mind. "Come on, Jacob…" Sandra nudged him softly. "Gillian came all this way in the rain, and all you can do is stare out the window like moping child."

"Sorry…" Jacob muttered as he turned back around. Sandra closed the curtains for good measure, drawing another sigh from the frustrated farmer.

"I hope the rain isn't this bad in Midgar…" Sandra muttered as she took a sip of her tea and sat down. "The boys are supposed to ship off to Wutai today…"

Jacob eyed Gillian as the tea cut between her hands began to quiver. He sat up straighter in his chair and met her eyes. "You can't worry about them all the time, Gillian." He said. "We're all worried, but we can't let it consume our lives. Their lives are going on and so are our's."

Sandra reached across the table and laid a gentle hand on her arm. "It's affecting your health…your life…You've lost a lot of weight." She looked at her best friend worriedly. "If you keep this up, Angeal won't have a mother to come back to."

Gillian nodded, but the reassurance didn't quite reach her eyes. "That's easy…for you to say." Gillian looked down into her tea, causing Jacob to raise an eyebrow. "If something happened to Genesis, the two of you would still have each other. I don't have anyone else…" She whispered.

Sandra's eyes widened as she got up and walked around the table. She wrapped her arms around Gillian's slender shoulders and rested her head on the top of her's. "You have us, honey…"

"You know that we would never let anything happen to you, Gillian." Jacob muttered impatiently, as if this were obvious. Sandra rolled her eyes at her husband. Itching to the change the change the subject from this awful emotional quagmire that the three of them found themselves in, Jacob asked. "Have you heard from him lately?"

A smile finally formed on Gillian's lips. "I heard from him yesterday. "She beamed. "He said he was excited about going to war, and that he and Genesis had made several new friends while they were in Midgar."

"Oh really?" Jacob muttered. "Genesis hardly ever writes…"

"I'm sure he's just bus…" But Gillian was cut off as a sudden scream ripped through the Rhapsodos mansion, causing both women to jump in fear. Jacob Rhapsodos bolted out of the door. Both woman followed, tentatively, huddling close to each other far behind. Jacob followed the scream to the front door where he found a maid in absolute shock.

"Mary Anne, what is…" Jacob cut himself short as he found a collapsed body in the doorframe. The baby in her arms gave a horrifying, high-pitched scream as the two women fought to get near the unconscious form.

Jacob cautiously kneeled down the woman as Sandra cupped a hand over her mouth. "Is she…?" Sandra whispered, terrified.

Jacob reached down and took her pulse. "She's alive." He looked up at the three women that were crowded by the door. "Barely." Gillian pushed through the crowd and scooped up the wailing child as Jacob began to bark orders. "Mary Anne, ready the guest room immeadiately!" Mary Anne disappeared up the stair as Jacob turned to his wife. "Get this woman some dry clothes!" He turned to Gillian. "You know what to do with the baby." Gillian nodded as she disappeared into the house with the baby. Jacob, then, managed to get his arms under the woman's body and lifted her into the air with a grunt. "Someone get her some soup! She's light as a feather!"

Servants were running back and forth across the house as they rushed to get the aid that Ifalna and her baby disparately needed. Gillian found an old crib and wheeled it into the guest room where Mary Anne was turning back the sheets. She was changing baby Aeris as Jacob entered the room, carrying Ifalna. Sandra was two steps behind him with a set of flannel pajamas. Jacob closed the door as he left the room in a hurry, leaving the two women to change Ifalna.

"We've got to call Dr. Waters." Gillian mumbled.

"The roads have been washed out, Ms. Gillian." Mary Anne shook her head. "There's no way he could make it there or back…"

Gillian swore under her breath.

Mary Anne nodded as she disappeared from the room, leaving Gillian and Sandra alone in the room. "Do you think you can handle this?" Sandra looked at her worriedly.

Gillian knotted her brow. She had been a lot of things in her life, but for once in that expanse, she was going to use her knowledge as a Shin-Ra scientist for good. She nodded to Sandra. "We can do this. We've just got to stay on top of it."

"We've got to get both of their fevers down…" Gillian muttered as she turned to Mary Anne, who had since retired to the corner to await further instructions. "Mary Anne, get me two water basins, two rags, and some aspirin." Gillian turned to her. "Quickly please."

Mary Anne disappeared out of the room as Sandra reached over to cover Ifalna's shivering form with a blanket. Mary Anne quickly reappeared with the things that Gillian had asked for on a cart.

Gillian looked at Sandra. "I'll take care of the baby. You take care of her." When Sandra gave Gillian a fearful look, Gillian sighed, but then smiled tiredly, realizing that Sandra had never cared for anyone in this condition before. "We've just got to give her some aspirin and keep mopping down her forehead." Sandra nodded as she pulled up a chair beside the bed and immediately dipped the rag the cold water that had chunks of ice floating within. "I'm more concerned about the baby…" She whispered softly as she bounced Aeris, to try to calm the fussy, feverish child. She sat down in a rocking chair near the bed, and began to rock Aeris, while mopping the child's forehead.

"I hope they'll be okay…" Sandra muttered to herself.

"I certainly hope so…" Gillian whispered back.

~oOo~

It was close to two in the morning, when Gillian told Sandra to go to bed. Mary Anne had since taken over, and neither woman had said much since as the minutes crept into hours. Neither the baby's fever or her mothers had risen, but nor had it fallen. Gillian kept rocking in the creaking wooden rocking chair to keep herself awake. She hated times like these as the silence left her to the discomfort of her own thoughts and worry. Angeal would be traveling to Wutai, and although she wasn't a very religious woman, she prayed to whatever gods she could think of to keep him and Genesis safe. As she had told the Rhapsodos earlier, Angeal was all that she had. She had left a life of madness in Midgar after realizing the truth that Angeal's father cared nothing about him or her. In fact, once Sephiroth was born, she and her son were treated like nothing more than a common scientist and a bygone experiment. She left Midgar one rainy night, much like this one, with the shirt on her back and a few things she'd needed for her child. She wound up in Banora, looking for a more simplistic lifestyle and more importantly, a place to shield Angeal from Shin-Ra's cruel madness. As was their nature, Shin-Ra did not openly pursue what no longer had any use to them, but she did get regular visitations from the Turks, who checked in on them from time to time. The Rhapsodos family had been gracious enough to offer her and son a home and a lifestyle away from Midgar, and while she had found new love within the simplistic life she found on the farm, she realized she had never completely gotten over what she lost all of those years ago. The anger still festered deep within her soul, and it had taken her years to even marginally regain her self-esteem after she had her son were regarded as trash. Her fingers tensed and she tried hard to not to squish the baby that had since fallen asleep in her arms. Would she have wanted Shin-Ra to want them? No. Would she have wanted her child to be forgotten about and something to be discarded like his life meant NOTHING? She grinded her teeth. No, what she wanted was for the man she thought loved both of them to recognize their existence…HIS existence. To know that Angeal's father had not merely used them as a means to an end.

She suddenly exhaled, having little idea that she had been holding her breath. She had found someone after she had moved to the farm who treated her like royalty and helped her deal with the trauma that she and her son had been dealt. She had…difficulties falling in love again, but Noah was patient and kind. He became Angeal's stepfather without a second thought and raised him like his own. Angeal never knew the tragedy from which he came, and Gillian had hoped to keep it that way. No child should have to live with that. Now that he was in SOLDIER, she feared he would find out, and she feared he would be angry. The only person in the world she had left would be angry with her, and she wouldn't be able to bear it. But even worse than that: He would carry the shame that he was something less than human. She bit her lip. It would almost be better that he die at war, than find out the truth.

A tear slipped down her face and she quickly reached up to grab it before Mary Anne saw it. "Why did he have to go back to Midgar?" She whispered.

"Ms. Gillian!" Mary Anne turned around quickly with wide eyes, snapping Gillian out of her thoughts. "She's saying something!" Gillian climbed out of her chair quickly and rushed to the bedside. Both she and Mary Anne strained their ears trying to make out what the young woman was saying. "What is she saying?" Mary Anne whispered, but was cut off by Gillian shushing her.

"Pro…Professor…" The young woman muttered in her fever dream. "…Gast…the baby…" Gillian's eyes widened comically. Was she talking about Professor Gast Faremis?... The scientist that was recently murdered for running away with an experiment?

"They've come for…the baby…" Ifalna's eyes squeezed more tightly shut. She groaned in her sleep as she began to toss and turn. "Protect…her…Protect Aeris…"

Gillian looked down at the baby in her arms in amazement. This was Professor Gast and this woman's…baby? She felt her heart leap into her chest. Was this child…yet another product of the Shin-Ra Science Department?

"Gast…don't…" Ifalna's voice raised in pitch. "He'll…kill you!" Ifalna's head began to jerk back and forth as if the rest of her body was being held by an invisible force. "Stop…don't kill him...!" Ifalna pleaded. "Why can't you just leave us alone?!" And then, Ifalna let out a blood curdling scream that caused Mary Anne to leap off the bed in fright. Gillian took a step backwards, cradling the baby against her chests protectively as images from her own past flooded her mind.

"Professor….Gast…" Ifalna began to sob.

Jacob and Sandra Rhapsodos burst into the room in their pajamas with worried expressions. "What happened?" Jacob looked around the room, but found nothing out of place.

Gillian backed up from the bed until she hit the wall in fright. Her legs felt weak underneath her and Sandra ran over to steady her. "Gillian, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing." Gillian managed to say between gasping for breath.

When Sandra turned to Mary Anne, the servant shook her head. "Ms. Gillian said that she was having a fever dream. I couldn't make out much of what she said…Something about the baby…and somebody not leaving them alone…" Mary Anne shook her blonde head. "She scared the living daylights out of us with her scream."

Sandra turned to look back at Gillian appraisingly. "You don't look good at all, honey." She said as she crossed the room. "Why don't you give me the baby?" She smiled softly as she put a hand on her forearm. When Gillian clutched the baby closer to her chest, Sandra frowned. "You need to rest…" She glanced back at Mary Anne who merely shrugged. "Gillian…Honey, can you hear me?"

Gillian nodded slowly, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "I…sorry…" Gillian muttered. Sandra tenderly began to pull on Gillian's arms until she had a hold of the child in her arms. When Gillian looked down at her own arms, she couldn't believe how hard her hands were shaking. Everything seemed otherworldly and distant, and she couldn't seem to break out of her own self-imposed fog. She felt Jacob's strong arm wrap around her shoulder and begin to lead her out of the bedroom. She had no energy left to struggle or fight him off. She obediently followed him in silence into the guest bedroom where he pulled back the covers. She fell into the bed effortlessly and stared at the ceiling while time seemed to lose all meaning.

~oOo~

Godo Kisaragi leaned over a large war table, surrounded by his most trusted advisors and confidants as they studied a large map in the low light of the candle lit room. Several of his generals had been in a deep discussion for over ten minutes on how to best combat the approaching Shin-Ra warships. The consensus was, Godo realized as he gripped the edges of the table until his knuckles turned white, that there was no consensus. Their discussion had turned into something that had seemed less like a military strategy and more like an egotistical pissing match: Each saw the moment as a prime opportunity to impress the new young emperor. One wanted to retreat deep within the mountains and use a guerilla style of attack. Another was quick to point out the fault in that, and seemed to lean toward a nautical style. The third had remained unobtrusively quiet, seeming lost in thought. Their voices were rising and Godo growled under his breath until he became so frustrated he slammed his fist down on the table, causing everyone in the room to startle.

"Are you finished?" Godo snarled.

All three generals bowed their heads respectively. "But my lord…" One of them interjected. "We were just discussing the proper strategy for…"

Godo cut him off quickly. "I know what you were doing." He rolled his eyes. "Everyone from here to Midgar heard what you were doing!" The two grating generals, at least, had the decency to step back from the war table, looking ashamed. He took a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This was getting them nowhere. When he glanced up, his eyes fell upon the thoughtful, aging general. "What are your thoughts, General Aida?"

General Aida shifted his weight nervously under the intense scrutiny of Emperor Godo. There was a long pause that caused the other two to turn toward Aida as well. "…I do not believe that Wutai can be defended against the Shin-Ra, Lord."

Godo suddenly began to darkly laugh as the candles danced behind him. All three generals backed up another step in fear. He smiled crookedly at Aida. "General Aida, is it your belief that we should lay down our lives to the Shin-Ra dogs?" His eyes narrowed. "Is it your belief that we should allow them to pillage our lands, defy our gods, and rape our children?" His voice began to rise. "Is it your BELIEF, General Aida, that Wutai should have no pride at all and that our ancestors be humbled?"

Godo watched as Aida's Adam's Apple rise and fell and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. "No, my Lord," The general continued to speak quietly. "It is my wish that all of us remain alive and that we may have good fortune negotiating a treaty."

Godo's eyes narrowed . "Get out of my sight, Aida." He growled. "Cowardice is not an option."

"Do not let your youthful pride by the downfall of our nation." Aida pleaded. "Please listen to reason, my Lord." The other two generals raised their eyebrows behind him.

"I have heard enough. If you do not remove yourself, Aida, I will personally do it for you."

General Aida opened his mouth and then quickly shut it. "That will not be necessary, Lord." He took a sharp bow before he quickly left the room, leaving his two compatriots to watch him leave.

That was when the Emperor heard a small throat clearing behind him. He turned to find a graying servant watching him nervously. "What do you want?" Godo muttered as he held his head in his hands.

"My Lord, it is about your daughter…."The servant bowed deeply.

"What about my daughter?" Godo muttered beneath his fingertips.

The servant shuffled his weight. "She needs you, sir." He said in a near whisper. "She's very upset and refuses to be consoled."

Godo spun on his heel, his eyes alight with anger once more. "And you cannot take of this yourself, because…?!"

The servant took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Lord, she has just lost her mother, grandfather, and her best friend." He swallowed. "She needs her father now." His voice shook.

"Wutai needs me more than she does." Godo answered coldly. "She needs to grow up and realize that I have more concerns than the needs of one person." He spoke sharply as he turned to face the servant. "Do the needs of one outweigh the needs of the many?" His eyes drilled into the servant. When the servant didn't respond, Godo muttered. "Her mother spoiled her and made her into a brat. A war is coming and all she is concerned with is herself."

"Lord, she is but a child…" The servant tried to argue.

"This conversation is finished. I don't have time for this." Godo cut him off and turned back around to the other two generals. The servant disappeared into the darkness.

He looked at the two generals who seemed markedly uncomfortable. In a calm voice he said, "We'll do both." When both generals nodded, he continued. "We will commandeer as many boats as we can and try to keep the Shin-Ra SOLIDERS from coming ashore." He nodded slowly. "Then, we will retreat back into the mountains. We want to keep the SOLDIERS away from the people as much as possible." He looked both men in the eye. "We will not back down." He said sternly.

[Type text]


	2. Chapter 2: The Game

Apple and the Core: Ifalna's Fields

Chapter 2: The Game

Gillian Hewley awoke with the sun shining brightly in her eyes. She rolled over, confused as to where she was until her memories returned from the night before. The young woman and her child…She glanced at the clock, and found it to be 8 AM. She swore. She tossed the blankets off and swung her heels over the edge of the bed in a hurry, trying to get to them as quickly as she could. She paused, though, as she heard hushed arguing from the other side of the bedroom door and weighed Jacob and Sandra's privacy over the health of the woman and her child. The doctor in her took over as she opened the door, finding Sandra in the hallway by herself. She heard angry footsteps march down the stairs. She turned to Sandra who was fighting back tears as she stared in the direction Jacob had just disappeared in. The door slammed hard enough downstairs that even the pictures in the upstairs hallway shuttered. As Sandra turned around, she looked at her with a soft, questioning gaze.

"What happened?" She asked quietly as she placed her hand on Sandra's shoulder.

Sandra slowly shook her head as she glanced away from Gillian, back towards the stairs. "Jacob is just angry." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders gently. She quickly added. "He's mad because of the rain." She reached up to dry her eye. "He said the crop's got apple rot from the dampness."

Gillian had spent enough time around Shin-Ra to recognize the signs of a lie, but it was the compassion of a best friend that made her question it. "Sandra," She voiced firmly, but empathetically. "I think there's something you're not telling me." Gillian heard the crinkle of paper between them, and noticed a sheet clenched tightly within Sandra's shaking fist. Gillian frowned as she gently reached toward her best friend's hand to steady it. She could her sniffling. "Sandra, please…" Her alarm was steadily growing. They were best friends. They told each other everything. This time she was pleading. "Please tell me what is going on."

"We got a letter from Gen today." She said quickly as she wiped her eyes on the back of her forearm.

"That's great!" Gillian smiled as she pulled her friend into a sideway hug. "You were just talking about how he never writes…"

"No…" Sandra turned toward her best friend and began to cry into her shoulder. Gillian was confused as she wrapped her other arm around her. "It's not great…"

Gillian felt the bile rise in her throat as the other woman's hot tears stained her blouse. "What happened? Were one of the boys hurt?!" She couldn't restrain the panic in her voice.

"No…" She squeezed her eyes shut. "No."

Gillian held Sandra at arm's length and cocked her head to examine her tear stained face. "Honey, what's going on?"

"It's…about the lady and her baby…" She said between muffled sobs.

Gillian's eyes widened. "It's not his, is it?"

Sandra shook her head miserably. "No, but he loves her." Gillian raised a brow at that, but let her speak. "She is an escapee of the Shin-Ra labs, Gill." And then, it suddenly came pouring out like a breaking damn breaking. "Gen sent her here…to hide." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "He thought that she could hide among the workers. Jacob thinks he's going to bring the brunt of the Shin-Ra down on us, Gill. That they're going to kill us all for taking in a fugitive."

Gillian brought Sandra back to her chest again as she sobbed harder. She knew things were bad when the young lady spoke about Professor Gast, but this… The room began to spin for Gillian as she began to grow hot. Panic was beginning to set in. Sandra must have felt the pounding of her own heart as she looked up Gillian. "…she can't stay here." Gillian swallowed hard, thinking of what Shin-Ra would do for their prized scientific experiments.

"That's what Jacob said." Sandra looked into her eyes. "But I can't imagine…a baby…in a lab…." She looked away. "I want her to stay, Gillian."

"She can't!" Gillian almost yelped. "You don't understand what they do to people who steal from them!"

"But we didn't steal her! She came to us!" Sandra begged.

Gillian took a breath as she shot one hand backwards, steadying herself on the wall. "That's not…how Shin-Ra sees it…" Gillian whispered harshly. "There was a scientist…that ran away with an experiment to save her…" Gillian closed her eyes. "And do you know what they did?!" Her voice was ragged and peaking with panic. "THEY KILLED HIM!"

"…but could you live with yourself knowing that you turned your back on someone like that?!" Sandra pulled away from Gillian and wrapped her arms around herself. Gillian found herself staring at her best friend's lonely back. "…I couldn't." She muttered as she rubbed her upper arms endlessly.

Gillian steadied herself. "What about Genesis?" She whispered hoarsely. "Don't you think he'll need his parents after the war?!"

Gillian watched as Sandra's expression turned from a passionate fear to melancholy. "…he doesn't see us as his parents, Gill." She whispered. "And most likely, he never will." Gillian was taken aback. This was too much at one time. She struggled for words. "Sandra, you can't adopt someone else's child to compensate what Genesis didn't return…"

Sandra spun on one heel. "That's not why I'm doing this!" She glared at Gillian angrily and Gillian pushed her back further against the wall. Sandra took a deep breath and after a long pause, said softly, "Do you really want this baby to be the next Sephiroth?"

"….." Images of the way Sephiroth had been treated in the lab had haunted her for sixteen years. It was one reason she knew that she could never raise Angeal that way. One of the reasons why she slipped away from Shin-Ra and never returned. She looked down at her shaking hands. She had already abandoned one baby to Shin-Ra. Everyone had felt badly for the baby, but no one had the courage to try to run away with him again. It was a fool's errand. She knew the horrors of the lab, and she wanted to shake Sandra and tell her what a fool she was for wanting to keep them safe….But the image of Sephiroth with tiny tubes and monitors protruding from him was an image that was inescapable. His lonely cries filled her ears once more, and her motherly instinct began to kick in. She knew it was suicide. She knew it was an inescapable fate. However, if she could not do that to her own child, how could she do it to someone else's? The hypocrisy was damning.

Gillian put her head in her hands. She had tried so hard to leave the lab behind and all of its moral quandrums, and now…

"…Gillian?" Sandra had crossed the hallway and now stood at her side. Gillian looked up at her best friend with tears streaking down her face.

"…if she stays…" Gillian swallowed a lump in her throat. "I want her to stay with me. I don't want anyone else to be involved in this."

"WE are involved in this." She gave Gillian a tearful grin as she wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. Gillian awkwardly reached up to embrace her. They held each other for several long moments "Angeal would be proud of you." Sandra batted away fresh tears.

"I suppose he would…" Gillian mused quietly.

Suddenly, the foyer door opened and slammed shut again. Sandra ran to the railing as soon as she heard Jacob calling her name. He looked as though he had run all the way from the fields. "Jacob, what is it?!" She yelled down to him.

"When I was in the fields, I met some SOLDIERs looking for the girl…." He said in-between breaths.

Gillian's heart caught in her throat as Sandra glanced back at her in alarm. "What did you tell them?!" She yelled back down to her husband.

Jacob stared up at his wife for a moment in silence, before he finally looked down and away. "…I told them I hadn't seen her." He muttered as if he had a distaste in his mouth.

Sandra raced down the stairs and leapt into her husband's arms, nearly bowling him over. "I knew you'd come to your senses!" She grinned.

He shook his head and sighed as he glanced up at Gillian. "Actually, I think I've lost my mind." He mumbled.

~oOo~

The waves slowly rocked the sea fairing military vessel as seagulls encircled overhead. Genesis swore at them as he stopped pacing to glare them from the deck below. Angeal glanced backwards at him from his binoculars with a raised eyebrow. "You know they have more of a right to be here than you do, right?"

Sephiroth, who was meditating on the wooden deck floor, snorted without opening his eyes.

"Damn birds just give me the creeps…" He muttered as he reached into his pockets and procured a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "Hey, you know land isn't going to pop up when we're three days away, right?" Genesis smirked broadly, teasing his best friend.

Angeal just rolled his eyes as Genesis lit his cigarette and began to pace once more.

Sephiroth finally opened one eye without moving from his lotus position. "Could you please not do that?"

Genesis plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and let the lit cigarette dangle between his fingertips. "Sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind." He muttered.

"We *all* have a lot on our minds." Sephiroth muttered, annoyed.

Genesis glanced up past the seagulls toward the blue sky above their heads. He took a long drag on his cigarette before smoke billowed out of his mouth as he spoke. "I'm worried about Ifalna…" He said quietly. "We haven't heard anything from her."

Angeal and Sephiroth glanced at each other before both of them turned to Genesis. "And you won't." Sephiroth opened his other eye, sighing. "Any sort of communication between us and her could get any of us killed."

"I'm sure she's fine, Gen." He leaned against the railings and shrugged. "We haven't heard anything to the contrary."

"That's easy for you to say…" Genesis muttered. "You don't lo…" Angeal suddenly gave Genesis a sharp look that cut him off instantly.

Sephiroth threw his arms into the air. "You don't have to act like I don't know. It's blatantly obvious." He rolled his eyes.

"And that doesn't bother you…?" Genesis raised a brow. "With her being like a mother to you and all?"

Sephiroth was silent for several long moments as he unfolded his legs one by one. Genesis began to squirm under the intense silence. "First of all," He muttered as he stretched his legs. "I have a war to worry about. Secondly," He finally looked up at Genesis with a very serious look. "I know where to find you if you do anything to hurt her."

Genesis choked on his own smoke, causing Angeal to chuckle. Genesis shot Angeal a very ugly look. He quickly quieted.

"You need to be more concerned about the war than your love life." Sephiroth said sharply, earning a small nod from Angeal as he stood and stretched. "Distractions will get you killed."

"All of the SOLDIERs have girlfriends, Sephiroth." Genesis rolled his eyes, dismissively.

Sephiroth turned. "But not all of them are in charge of large platoons of men." He warned. "If you don't want to do it for you, then do it for them."

Genesis threw his cigarette down to the deck and squashed it angrily on the wooden planks. "Look, I don't need you treat me like a small child." Genesis began to march toward Sephiroth.

Angeal stepped between them. "Gen, he's only trying to help you…"

"Like hell he is!" Genesis shouted over of Angeal's shoulder at Sephiroth.

"I will treat you as an adult when you start acting like one." Sephiroth glared back at him.

Genesis roughly pushed Angeal out of the way and marched past Sephiroth. Angeal watched as he disappeared below deck and slammed the door as hard as he could behind him.

"He's not ready for this…" Sephiroth said softly as he shook his head.

Angeal folded his arms across his chest as he looked in the direction that Genesis went. "…he's just worried about her, that's all."

"I know that..." Sephiroth shook his head. "And that is why I worry."

Angeal raised an eyebrow. "So you're not angry with him…"

Sephiroth shook his head. "No." He sighed. "I was never angry with him. I'm worried for him." Sephiroth looked out towards the sea. "I'm worried about Ifalna, too, Angeal." He pressed his lips together. "But what worries me the most is that Genesis may not even make it back to her."

"He's learning…" Angeal tried to argue.

"He is." Sephiroth allowed. "But is he learning fast enough?" He asked rhetorically. "We have…three days, Angeal." He closed his eyes as leaned his head against the railing. "Genesis has three days."

~oOo~

Yuffie was sitting upon her canopied bed amidst a large pile of stuffed animals that seemed to almost swallow her small form whole. Tears ran down her small cheeks as she clutched her favorite, Mr. Bear, to her chest. Her grandfather had given Mr. Bear to her, and she clutched it for dear life. Yuffie had never felt so alone in her young life. In just a short time, her best friend, her mother, and her grandfather had been stolen away from her. Her father might as well be another servant in the way he floated in and out her life, and when he did decide to play parent, it was usually through chastisement and lecturing. It had become immensely worse since her grandfather and mother had died. They had shielded her from most of her father's sour moods, but now…She buried her head in Mr. Bear's soft fur…Now, there was no one, but him.

Emotion had overcome her earlier, and she begged and pleaded with the servant not to fetch her father. She knew what the outcome would be: Further anger and perhaps even punishment that she could not withhold her emotion like a "true warrior." She was nothing but a disappointment for her father since birth: Her father had wanted a boy, but when her mother lost the ability to bear children after she was born, he was bound and determined to make this girl child into something more than any child could hope to be. As she grew, she and her father had continued to clash. Her father said that she had no discipline. She was four. Her father abhorred her collection of stuffed animals, and said that they were toys of a child. She was six. One time he beat her so badly with a switch that her grandfather stepped in, with tears flowing freely from her face. She was nine.

She knew it wasn't totally her father's fault: Her mother said she had inherited her father's stubbornness. They had horrible verbal arguments, sometimes in front of others outside of the family. Her father was embarrassed by the same lack of control in his own child that he exhibited. She overheard her grandfather telling her mother than her daughter was so much like his son that he was blinded by it.

Tears dripped down her face. If she were to be completely honest with herself: The beatings, the shouting…None of them hurt as much as the idea that she had firmly planted within her soul that he ceased loving her the day she was born. All she was was a means to an heir. A BOY. She wanted to scream. Was it so horrible that she was born a girl?! Couldn't she still be useful? Didn't a girl have a lot of the same parts as a boy?! Couldn't a girl be a strong warrior too?! She sobbed. She didn't want to admit it, but the thing she wanted above all…was her stupid father to love her and admit that she was worth more the summation of girl parts. She wanted her father to see her the same way her best friend's father saw her.

She heard a soft knock on her door and she quickly threw herself on top of her stuffed animals so the servant wouldn't see her crying. "Come in…" She muttered.

She heard the door slowly open with a creak and then softly close. "Princess Yuffie, your father regrets that he cannot come at the moment. He is otherwise occupied."

The servant ducked a thrown stuffed animal. Yuffie knew he would. He was quick. "I could have told you that, asshat!"

The servant bowed. "So you did, Princess."

She wasn't angry with him, although her father's interruption would cost her in the future. Later tonight, he would beat her. Again. Another embarrassment. Another showing of weakness.

"Perhaps you could speak of your troubles to your father tonight at dinner?" He offered hopefully.

"Fat chance." Yuffie rolled over and looked the servant squarely in eye. "Is he even going to BE at dinner tonight?" She hated the sarcasm that dripped off her tongue like venom.

"He told me he was!" The servant smiled. "In fact, he said that he was anxious to speak with you."

"I bet he is…" She mumbled. "…Daiki…" She asked hesitantly. "Are you the only one around here who cares about me?"

Daiki blinked for a moment and then started forward. "Princess, many care about you here…" He said softly. "Although, I am the one charged with your care."

Yuffie narrowed down on the question that had been deep inside her heart for days."Is that because you're paid to do it or because you want to do it?" Daiki stopped moving forward. The expression on his face confirmed what she already knew.

"Princess, I do really care about you, I do…" He tried to continue, but Yuffie cut him off. The horrible truth that she was truly alone in this nation left her with nothing but an aching emptiness inside herself. She wanted to lash out and anyone, and unfortunately, Daiki had been the only one present.

"I don't like it when people lie to me." She said coldly. "You're excused, Daiki."

He opened his mouth to try to defend his stance, but when saw the expression on her face, he closed it tightly. He bowed. "I'm…I'm sorry, Princess." He said as he slowly backed out the door.

As the door softly pulled shut, she whispered as the tears began to fall anew, "…You shouldn't be, Daiki. It's not your fault." She cried harder into her pillow. "At least, you try to pretend to care about me…" She curled into a fetal position. Her voice cracked, "What can I do to make Father love me?!"


	3. Chapter 3: Mad Logic

The Apple and the Core: Ifalna's Fields

Chapter 3: Mad Logic

Dr. Waters, the Banora physician, had come slogging in earlier that morning. He came as a welcomed surprise to Sandra. The older man had traveled on chocoboback earlier to get there, given the waters were still high over the roads. She watched nervously as Dr. Waters hovered over Aeris first, taking her temperature, listening to her breath and heart rate, and monitoring her other vital signs. Sandra exchanged glances with Gillian as he pulled the stethoscope out of his ears, tsking. Without saying another word, he crossed the room to Ifalna and just shook his head.

"I don't have to take a chest X-Ray of this one to know she has pneumonia. Her breathing is louder than my chocobo's as we rode over." H muttered grumpily as he shoved his instrument into the pocket on his doctor's coat and grabbed the thermometer. "And she's burning up." He turned around. "The baby is too…." He muttered. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised given that they were out in that storm…"

Sandra pressed her lips together, in an effort to suppress the tears in her eyes. Her best friend crossed the expanse of the room and wrapped an arm around her in a tight hug. "They'll be all right." She heard Gillian whisper. "People have lived through worse things than this…"

"Mmm." Dr. Waters agreed. "You girls did a good job last night." He conceded, but Sandra heard a but coming. "But, they need to be in a hospital where they can be monitored twenty-four/seven." The doctor looked down his nose, over his spectacles, already preparing himself for an argument.

"But you can't!" Sandra nearly fell forward in her exuberance. Gillian caught her and steadied her. When the doctor raised an a questioning eyebrow, Sandra fell silent as tears welled in her eyes. She glanced at Gillian for help.

"We're perfectly capable of taking care of her here, doctor." Gillian straightened, trying to intimidate the doctor slightly.

"Gillian, I've known you for years to be a logical and very smart young woman. I know you're capable, but use the brain that the gods gave you!" He began to polish his lenses in irritation. "These kinds of situations can get out of hand quickly. She may need things like steroids…oxygen…"

"She can't go." Gillian folded her arms across her chest, standing her ground. Sandra stepped up beside here and gave him a very determined look.

"Why can't she?!" The doctor threw his arms up into the air. "A patient's life is on the line!"

Gillian was about to start to start yelling at the doctor, when Sandra put a hand on her shoulder. "…because if she goes…" She watched Gillian's eyes go wide. "…she could be in more danger than she is now."

"That's impossible." The doctor argued. "The staff at Midgar Metro are perfectly capable of…"

"…that's not what I meant." Sandra interrupted, her voice was now almost a whisper.

The doctor opened his mouth, but then shut it as Jacob walked into the room with a distinctly dark look on his face. "Jacob, talk some sense into these women. " He gestured behind him. "These girls need to be in a hospital."

"They can't go." Jacob took his place firmly behind his wife.

The doctor roughly grabbed his black medical bag off the bed. "Have you all LOST YOUR MINDS?!"

Jacob glared down at the older man's frailer frame. "We can't explain why they can't go, and I won't have you yelling at my wife!" Jacob glared at him.

Doctor Waters,then, raised a questioning brow as he looked over all three adults in the room. The wheels began to turn in his mind. "Who is this young woman?" He asked quietly.

When all three of them were silent, Dr. Waters shook his head. "This is that girl Shin-Ra is looking for, isn't it?" He muttered quietly as he turned back to look at here. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Do you know why they want her?"

"We don't know." Gillian answered truthfully. "She appeared on the door step, unconscious…"

Dr. Waters sighed heavily. "Do you folks know what you've gotten yourselves into?" His voice was tired, but tense as he shook his head. He was quiet for a long moment. Sandra could tell that Dr. Waters was internally debating something. "On one hand, I can't help you harbor a wanted criminal. I'm a father…a grandfather." He paused. "I'd like to see my grandkids grow up big and strong." He closed his eyes. "On the other hand, I'm a doctor. I can't leave a patient to die."

"Then, don't." Sandra pleaded with him. "Help us take care of her.

Dr. Waters took a long breath. "…either way you look at it, she'd be better off in Midgar." He took off his glasses and polished them. "She might be in prison somewhere, but at least she'd be alive." He turned to Aeris. "And you've got her life to think about, too…"

"We can't let her go, Doctor." Jacob's voice was soft, but firm. He shook his head. "I can't send her back without knowing what she did." Jacob glanced at Gillian. "I can't say I trust Shin-Ra much anymore…"

"Nonsense." Dr. Waters bit back. "Shin-Ra's bringing electricity to all of the towns across the continents…They're fighting those savages from Wutai for the betterment of the entire planet." He rolled his eyes. "I never thought you'd buy into conspiracy theories. With your boys being in Shin-Ra, I thought that you'd be more Shin-Ra friendly."

"Maybe that's why I'm not that Shin-Ra friendly after all." He answered darkly, with a sense of finality. "She stays here, doctor."

"Look, I like you and your family, Jacob, and I'm not going to let you throw your lives away on some vagabond criminal."

"You don't know she's a criminal." Sandra piped in quietly.

"Why else would Shin-Ra be looking for her?!" Dr. Waters threw up his hands impatiently. "Fine." Dr. Waters snapped. "Throw your lives away, but leave me and my family out of it. I'm not willing to sacrifice everything I've earned for some mystery woman."

"Are you going to tell Shin-Ra?" Sandra's voice quivered as the tears threatened to flood her eyes.

Dr. Waters grit his teeth. "I'm going to pretend like I didn't see a damn thing." He turned toward the door. "And if you were smart, you'd do the same thing." He marched toward the door with his hands wrapped so tightly around the instruments in his hand, that his knuckles were turning white. He then, pivoted once last time to face them. "If they die, their deaths will be on your heads. I won't have anything to do with this!" He hissed as he turned to Gillian he tossed a bottle of medicine to her. "You wanted a patient, Gillian? She's your's!" And the doctor slammed the door, causing Aeris to wail. Sandra half-fell down onto the bed as Gillian went to the infant's aid. Jacob could only stand and stare at the door. He finally fell into a sitting position on the bed.

"…I've never liked that man." He sighed.

"You've always liked Dr. Waters…"Sandra whispered with a weak smile on her face. It quickly faded into a deep frown. "…did we make the right decision?"

Gillian bounced Aeris in her arms as the infant quieted. Jacob looked up at the patient behind him. "I think we made the only decision we could."

"And if they die?" Sandra bit her lip as her eyes welled up with tears.

Jacob pulled his wife into a tight side hug. "We're not even going to go there."

Gillian looked toward the window, with a faraway expression. "If they die here…" She paused. "They still will have had a much better life than they would have in a Shin-Ra lab."

Sandra buried her head deeply within Jacob's shoulder and sobbed for the unfairness of it all. A baby who may not get to live a full life. A mother who wanted to see her child grown, but may not get the chance. The room was silent, minus the sound of Sandra's crying and Ifalna's labored breathing. Gillian came around Sandra's other side and embraced her from there. "We'll figure this out."

Jacob swallowed hard, remembering the phone call he'd just received from Veld. "Somehow…"

~oOo~

Tseng walked toward Veld's office, passing several fellow Turks along the way. At least, he didn't feel despised when he walked through the halls of the Turk floor, he sighed. Wutain discrimination and out right hatred seemed to emanate from his non-Turk co-workers, and it gotten so bad outside of the building that he didn't leave unless he had to. The sushi bar across the street had gotten sprayed with hate-filled graffiti several times now, and he hated that one of the few Wutain business owners on the plate was actually considering moving back to Wutai despite the war. All this from supposedly educated and well-rounded people. He snorted.

It probably would not have irked him so badly had he not had to deal with the death of his family on top of it all. Grief had made him solemn and somewhat irritable. Understandably so, some of his fellow co-workers had said. At least the Turks had one thing in common: Almost all of them were hated by community at large. They understood, to one degree or another, what isolation was. Some of them even lacked family for a variety of reasons. Cissnei and Veld had been life savers, and he'd ended up speaking to them several times over the past few weeks. Cissnei seemed to be grieving over the loss of his family, which was puzzling and heartwarming at the same moment. Veld seemed distracted by current events, but always welcomed him into his office.

Tseng could tell that Veld that been trying not to bother him over the past couple of weeks. He thought that his second in command should have taken time off to properly grieve. Tseng had quietly disagreed, telling Veld that his work was all he had left. He had no graves to tend to, no will to enact…And taking a walk was certainly out of the question. This was what made this summons so interesting, though. Veld had let the young Turk come to him, not the other way around. He knocked on Veld's door, wondering what was going on.

A voice beckoning him to come from the other side allowed him entry, and as he entered, he found Veld leaned over a stack of thick paperwork with a furiously moving pen. "I hate war…" He muttered. "It causes too much damn paperwork." Tseng snorted as Veld put down his pen. "Sit."

Tseng slowly lowered himself into one of the chairs in Veld's office, as the man folded his hands in front of him. "I've been hearing things…"

"I'm sure you've been hearing a LOT of things about me." Tseng muttered sourly, causing Veld to laugh, but Tseng noticed he changed the subject quickly.

"No, I mean…I heard a rumor." Veld leaned back in his chair.

"Since when do you put stock in rumors?" Tseng's expression soured.

"Since now." He smiled viciously, making Tseng squirm slightly in his chair. He wondered what, exactly, the Turk leader had heard. "I heard you were spending a lot of time with Cissnei?" He raised an eye brow.

"…." Tseng struggled as he felt his face begin to grow hot. "She has been telling me about the last few days she had with my family." Tseng looked away.

Veld leaned forward. "…are you sure that's all there is to it?" He grinned.

Tseng threw his hands up in the air and rolled his eyes. "…you're worse than Reno." He hissed exasperatedly.

"Who do you think I heard it from?" Veld leaned backward and put his hands behind his head. Tseng smacked his forehead so hard it resounded within the walls of the office.

"Don't hurt yourself." Veld smirked as he looked back down at the pile of paperwork on his desk. "Well, the last time a Turk made out with someone in the medic, I got my ass chewed, so…"

Tseng's eyes got big. "Sir, I NEVER…!"

Veld continued. "…I'm giving you an assignment since you won't take a hint to take some damn time off."

Tseng blinked. "An assignment?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, SOLDIER has ultimately failed in finding Ifalna…" He paused. "Thank the gods…" He muttered. "However, the last place they saw her was in the Banora area."

"…you're kidding?" When Veld shook his head, Tseng leaned back in his chair, astounded. "Is Genesis really that stupid?" Tseng clenched his teeth. "If they find her in Banora, they will trace it back to Genesis and ultimately back to us!" He hissed.

Veld nodded in agreement. "Which is why I told them I'd send my best Turk search the Banora area."

Tseng slowly nodded. "But I thought I wasn't allowed to leave Midgar?"

Veld shook his head. "I went straight to the President and offered him the idea." He shrugged. "He doesn't care about the racism. It's all business to him. I told him you know the area best from monitoring Angeal and Genesis."

"All business?" Tseng seethed as he leaped to his feet. "Was my family's death all business?"

Veld glanced at the door to make sure it was shut. He leaned forward and harshly whispered. "We're all business to the President. Not one of us is spared from that horror." He leaned backwards. "This is a chance to make another difference in someone's life."

Tseng sighed and fell back into the chair. He placed a tired hand over his eyes. "I apologize…" He muttered. "I don't know why I…"

Veld walked around the desk and put a hand on his shoulder. "Which is why you really need to take some time off, Tseng…" He sighed. "Or at least, have time away from this hellhole." He shook his head as he kneeled beside him to look him in the eye. "You can't keep bottling it up like this…" Veld smiled as he stood, patting Tseng on the shoulder. "Treat this like a mini-vacation." "The only objective you have is to NOT find Ifalna. I've even arranged for you to stay at the Rhapsodos' home."

"…." Tseng sighed, but slowly nodded. He had to admit that Veld was right. His neck was so tight that he was having constant headaches. The Rhapsodos family were nice people, if not a little on the annoying side. Still, being away from the rat race and hatred of Midgar would be…nice.

Veld smiled as he walked back to his desk. "You'll leave in two hours."

Tseng nodded silently as he stood. He strode across the room and placed his hand on the door knob, before he heard Veld call out to his back, "And give Cissnei some thought, eh? She's a nice girl."

He wasn't even going to respond to that. He rolled his eyes as he pushed down on the door handle, and left Veld behind to deal with his mountain of paperwork.

~oOo~

Angeal wondered if he should chase Genesis after he disappeared below deck. Instead, a sense of overwhelming dread and sadness filled his gut as he stared at Sephiroth's back as the silver haired SOLDIER was bent over on the railing of the ship. Angeal quietly approached the more solemn SOLDIER and rested his arms on the moist railing. The truth of the matter was: He wasn't sure if he was ready either. A roiling sickness had lurched in his stomach ever since he had stepped foot on the ship. He had casually passed it off as sea sickness, too afraid to admit himself the real truth behind the ailmenet. But now…He took a deep breath, bile lurching in his stomach. "You know…" He said in almost a whisper. "I'm not sure if I'm ready either."

Sephiroth turned his head and straightened his posture slightly. "Why do you say that?"

Angeal swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm…afraid." It was all Angeal could manager to spit out.

There was a terse short silence between the two as Sephiroth studied him. He finally snorted and smiled sardonically. "Everyone is afraid." He glanced back out to sea. "In fact, if you were not afraid, I would question your sanity."

Angeal nodded slowly as he followed Sephiroth's glance out to sea. He wasn't quite sure how to say this. He knew that if he admitted this to Genesis, the young man would mock him. He hoped Sephiroth would not do the same. "I'm…also not sure I can…." Angeal stopped, the words hung in his throat.

"Can what?" Sephiroth glanced at him.

"Kill people." Angeal muttered, causing him to look away.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. He, then, looked thoughtful for a moment as he noticed how tense Angeal's body was. " …Again, if you wanted to kill people, I'd question your sanity." He smiled slightly, making Angeal relax slightly. "Would you kill someone to defend yourself?" He asked more seriously.

"Yes, I…" Angeal paused and then shook his head. "It's not the soldiers I'm worried about…" Angeal shook his head. "I know there will be women…and children, too."

"There won't be many people on the battle field that won't be combatants…" Sephiroth nodded slowly. "And noncombatants don't deserve to die." Sephiroth finally turned and looked at Angeal squarely. "Do you know why I fear that Genesis is not ready for battle?"

"Because he's distracted?" Angeal tilted his head.

"No." The silver haired teen sighed. "Angeal, any SOLDIER who is ready for war has the same thoughts that you are having." Sephiroth began to pace. "He considers death and all its seriousness." He paused as he clenched his fists. "No," Sephiroth echoed. "Genesis is not ready for war because he sees it as a game." Angeal was about to argue, but Sephiroth cut him short. "Genesis believes that war is accolades and accomplishments. Heroes and villains." Sephiroth rolled his eyes as he turned his back to Angeal. "He cares for nothing other than what affects himself."

"He cares about Ifalna!" Angeal found himself shouting at Sephiroth's back.

Sephiroth turned. "And that directly affects him." Sephiroth took a step toward Angeal, his green eyes blazing with anger. "Innocent people have already died in this conflict."

Angeal took a step backwards. He thought about Tseng and his poor, murdered family. "And many more will…."

Sephiroth began to head toward the door below deck, but as he reached the door, he turned. "Angeal, I'm worried about him as much as you are, but if he does not see war for what it truly is, more people will die." Sephiroth looked down at his gloved hand on the door handle. "And they will die in the name of vanity."

Sephiroth took a deep breath and looked Angeal in the eye. His voice took a more measured, solemn tone. "Angeal, if his attitude does not change in the next three days…Please promise me something."

Angeal stood, transfixed on Sephiroth's emerald green eyes. When he realized that Sephiroth was expecting some sort of answer, he awkwardly nodded.

"If Genesis does not change…." He paused. "Stay as far away from him as you can possibly muster." Sephiroth pulled on the door handle. "He'll do nothing but get you killed."

Angeal could only stare at the back of Sephiroth's trench coat as he disappeared below deck. A cold chill washed down his body and he rubbed his forearms vigorously. He had a lot to think about.

~oOo~

Yuffie bounded down the stairs in her father's favorite kimono as she took the stairs two at a time. The servants had promised her that her father would be at dinner tonight, and she hoped that by her wearing his favorite kimono, that she could earn brownie points from him after she had interrupted his meeting with his generals. Her wooden shoes hit the floor with a solid clap and she took off toward the dining room as quickly as she dared run with her clunky shoes. She hadn't seen him in days, and even though they didn't always get along, she was excited to see him. And not only would she see him, she would impress him, she thought. She would show him that she could be as impressive as any boy, she smirked to herself. She and he could talk strategy, even though she hadn't thought one up yet. She reached the dining room excitedly, determined to prove her worth to her father once and for all. She threw open the doors, and found the room achingly empty.

She frowned. That was okay. He would be later, she was sure of it. She slid into a chair at one end of the table, and waited patiently for her father to arrive. Unfortunately, patience wasn't one of her best virtues. She squirmed slightly, looking to the right and the left, and then finally her eyes rested on the door. When the sound of the creaking wood finally reached her ears, she leapt to her feet as servants brought one plate.

"Where is Dad?" She frowned as she cocked her head to the side. Her stomach began to churn. Something wasn't right. They always served her father first, and always made her wait.

They set the meal in front of her, and then one servant turned to look at the other. "Didn't they tell you, Princess?"

"…." Yuffie swallowed hard. "Tell me what?" She asked weakly, although she had already surmised the answer.

"Your father will not be joining you for dinner." The servant said quietly. "He said he had other matters that he had to attend to."

Yuffie suddenly felt tears burning within the wells of her eyes. She clenched her teeth. She wouldn't let the servants see her cry. She flopped back into the wooden chair and pulled her knees up to her chest. She laid her head on her knees.

"…Princess?" The servant asked, but Yuffie didn't hear them.

Suddenly, rage engulfed her. She balled her hand into a fist and swept all of the china off the table with her forearm, causing the two servants to yelp in surprise. "He would have made time for a boy…" She whispered too low for any of them to hear.

"Princess, you're bleeding!" One the servants exclaimed as he reached out for her forearm.

"I DON'T CARE!" Yuffie screamed back at him, causing him to retreat a step. The kimono was her father's favorite. She hoped she bled all over it. She hoped she ruined the damn thing.

She leapt up from the chair and kicked off her wooden shoes, barely missing the concerned servants and she ran out of the dining room and dashed up the stairs, her tears no longer restrained. She made it to her room, and slammed her door so hard that a picture of her mother fell off the wall. The glass within shattered into a million pieces. She knew her father would be angry with her. She didn't care.

She threw herself on top her stuffed animals and sobbed, wondering what in the world she could do to make her father notice her. She cried her heart out until she finally cried herself to sleep.


End file.
